Like Cat and Dog
by Lovely Rain Dancer
Summary: They were mortal enemies, and that they were supposed to remain... But by a chance encounter in the woods, might things change? If you don't recognize the other, you get to know them so much better...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello to you all! I'm still alive as incredible as it may seem. I never thought I'd find myself writing another story on here, and yet here I am. Here's something that has been stewing in my mind for quite a while. The prologue is just the pace setter, to give you an idea of what you're dealing with! Don't worry, the first chapter will probably tickle your fancy a little more! **

**Anyways, do enjoy the read!**

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She loathed him. Positively, entirely, completely, utterly loathed him. His arrogant face, idiotic smirk, sneaky glances… All of him. She just couldn't stand him. Never had and never would, that's what she had sworn to herself. After all, she couldn't be more of a disappointment to her family. Appreciating Sirius Black. Bah, how daft.

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He couldn't stand her. Positively, entirely, completely, utterly, couldn't stand her. Her haughty features, irritating poses, annoying retorts… All of her. He just couldn't stand her. Besides, all her family was Slytherin. Why would he even like such an insufferable bitch? Appreciating Marissa Nott. Bah, how impossible.


	2. Chapter 2: Off to the woods we go

Whew. I've had this for quite a while actually, but never got around to posting it. So here's the first official chapter to this story. Not much depth concerning the characters, but that'll come later!

Enjoy your read!

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Slipping out of her bed, Marissa headed down to the common room, desperately seeking some air. Still nothing. The warm autumn air was stifling. Damn those "Indian summers". For once that she wanted freshness.

Deciding that risking getting caught outside past the curfew was worth catching a breath of fresh air near the lake, she cautiously opened the door of the Ravenclaw tower dorm, and headed down to the first floor. All she needed now was a window. Open would be easier, she didn't trust herself to be strong enough to open one of those humongous rusty frames.

Taking her wand out from her bra, where she had stored it earlier, she muttered "Lumos", wanting to be able to see where she stepped. Aha. A few steps later was a window, wide open. She grinned to herself, extinguishing her wand and transforming it into a small silver bracelet, much more convenient for what was about to occur.  
She closed her eyes, mentally pulling the corners of her body inwards, feeling it change, shift downwards and cover itself in fur. Smirking softly to herself, the small fishing cat jumped up to the window sill and out into the grounds, relishing in the small breeze rustling the grass. At her left paw twinkled the same silver bracelet.  
Looking up, the cat observed the full moon, purring softly. It was a perfect night out. Perhaps she'd head to the lake and take a dip? The fish there were always delicious, as long as she avoided the merman's territory, and the giant squid. She was in no mood to get swallowed or dissected tonight.

Padding along quietly, she reached the banks of the water and slipped in, fur and body adapting rapidly to the cold temperature. Thank god her Animagus was a fishing cat and not some fat grand-mother cat which hated water. She wouldn't have survived without the element.

As she was about to dive under and start hunting, a howl caught her attention. A wild animal in the forest? A wild animal that sounded remarkably like a werewolf... Her parents had taught her how to recognize the monstrous half-breeds, as they called them. Slytherin families were often taught to despise and hunt down the beasts. But curiosity won over the disgust implanted in her and she padded out of the lake, heading into the forest. Fishing would wait another day.  
She treaded the undergrowth cautiously, ready to spring into the high branches, out of danger.  
Nothing yet. The howls had fallen silent, apparently.

Crack. A branch up ahead had been broken. She stilled, back rounding with fear. Taking a deep breath, she took another step forwards, and found herself face to face with a humongous, titanic black dog. A beast. Almost a wolf. But not the werewolf. But a huge beast. Huge. Huge. Huge. All her cat instincts screamed for her to scram, but as a human, she stood there, frozen, before yowling in surprise, an inarticulate sound.  
Apparently just as shocked, the dog howled as well, creating a terrible duo.

Except his howl was a yell. A human-like yell. "The fuck?!"

She paused, eyes wide. Another Animagus?! Impossible. No one was registered in the school, apart from McConagall.  
Meanwhile, realizing she had fallen silent and wasn't leaving in fear like a normal cat would, the dog had gotten closer, and rumbled at her like she was some sort of vulgar stupid forest cat.

"C'mon kitty, get outta here.." was approximately what she understood.

"Are you kidding." she deadpanned, staring at him as she sat down, tail curling around her paws.

"Do I look like a 'kitty' type to you?" she tilted her head a fraction, hoping whoever this dog was had a small portion of brain to his active.

Apparently not. The beast stared at her in a mixture of horror and realization.

"You're an Animagus." he muttered, eyes widening.

"Brilliant." she rolled her eyes in a typically human style, before showing her teeth in a cat-y grin.

"What made you catch on? Perhaps the fact that fishing cats are exclusive to the continent of South America? Or was that too complex a hint..? Maybe the fact that I didn't-"

He cut her off, voice gruff.

"The fact that you didn't run. Besides, you could be more precise than that, for the cat. They exist only in certain regions, you know."

It was her turn to be muted with surprise. He wasn't stupid. What a miracle! A Hogwarts male that wasn't completely dense and obsessed with Quidditch.

"You're not a moron." she murmured, eyes wide. The dog rolled his own brown orbs, before grinning goofily.

"What made you catch on?" he asked, throwing back her own words from earlier.

She licked her paws in anticipation, recognizing the nice word play.

"Nicely done." she purred, before laying down in the grass. "So what is an illegal Animagus doing running around in the forest at midnight?"

The dog sat down as well, growling for a second. "Don't play smart, you aren't registered either."

"True, true. Will you answer though?"

He paused for a second, before returning the question.

"If you tell me first."

She purred in amusement. "That's easy. I was dying of heat in my dorm so I slipped out." she kept from giving details that could identify her, not wanting to be recognized as the Nott heiress.

"Ha. That's simpler than me. I'm out with some friends." he explained briefly, ears flicking as he listened around for a sound that didn't come. So there were others out here, she thought, eyes widening. That was good to know.

"Ah. Well you should go rejoin them, they might think you got eaten by a little kitty." she showed her teeth a fraction before standing back up, tail flicking proudly behind her.

"Good night, doggy-boy."

He barked a laugh before patting her head with his paw, making her recoil in horror at the dirt now in her fur.

"Night kitty." he barked again, before heading off.

She growled profanities to herself as she started back towards the castle, before stopping as a pounding behind her made the ground tremble.

"What." she snapped, still angry about the dirt.

"See you tomorrow at the same place?" asked the dog with a goofy grin.

She rolled her eyes before nodding. "Sure doggy-boy. Already can't live without me?"

He laughed. "I'm curious." was the answer.

"Well see you tomorrow then." she replied, tail flicking his nose before stalking off.

That had been an interesting night.


	3. Chapter 3: A typical day of hate

Morning came way too fast for her taste, accompanied by a too-bright sun and the obnoxious giggling of the girls she shared her dorm with. They were probably gossiping about whichever flavor of the day Black had chosen for himself. Gah, the horror of mindless teenaged conversation.

Marissa groaned and lifted herself off her mattress, pushing back the useless curtains she had forgotten to pull when she had returned from her midnight excursion. Speaking of midnight excursions… her eyes widened in horror as she caught sight of her hair, matted with dirt. That mutt. She was going to murder him.

Making sure none of the girls glimpsed her disheveled state, she slipped into the bathroom and quickly showered, washing all the evidence of her disobedience. When she was clean and presentable, she exited and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Instead of sitting with her house, she headed to the green and silver table, greeting her sibling before grabbing a goblet of juice. "Hello sister, good day to you."

That was the only reply she got, and that was on good days. Being the only Nott in Ravenclaw wasn't particularly doing wonders for her reputation. Ah well. She was already prepared to go through the two years she had left, get out of Hogwarts and marry whoever her parents had set up for her, thus satisfying any expectations they might have for the failure of the family. She wouldn't rebel, she wouldn't show any dissatisfaction or disagreement with the Pure-blood ideals, she would just smile daintily and bear it, and mother would be happy.

Boisterous exclamations came from the other end of the room and she glanced up with disinterest, already knowing who she would see. The bloody Marauders, making fools of themselves once again, like they had since year 1. Fantastic. Her brother Marcus snorted in irritation before making a comment to Lucius who was sitting next to him.

Having eaten her fill, she stood up and headed to her first class, ignoring the greetings her dorm mates sent her way. She couldn't really afford to be seen associating with half-bloods, her situation was rocky enough as it was. Pity though, some of the girls seemed to actually possess half a brain (probably why they ended up in Ravenclaw in the first place).

To her greatest delight –not-, the first lesson was in common with the Gryffindors. She closed her eyes briefly before entering the class, praying for patience and calm. All was in vain since the smirking face of Sirius Black was the first thing to greet her.

"You." She dropped flatly, eyes narrowing in distaste. "Move, won't you? Some would actually like to sit down."

His eyebrows raised in amusement as he responded, looking her over with a leering gaze only to rankle her further. "Touchy, touchy, Nott. What's got you up in a tizzy so early in the morning? On such a beautiful day too!"

She snorted in disbelief. "You ask me that while invading my personal space. I thought it would be obvious enough that your mere presence is enough to ruin my day."

"I'm hurt, Nott, truly, I am." He pressed a hand against his chest dramatically. "You wound me deeply!"

"Enough for you to get the hint and leave?" she snapped back, eyes flashing in unconcealed irritation.

"But pissing you off just makes my day so much better! How could I resist? You're so bloody uptight and arrogant Nott, you must wonder how anyone can even stand you."

Ah there it was. Finally he stopped pretending to be polite and revealed his true colors. It was always much easier to deal with him when the gloves are off.

"Have you seen yourself before calling me arrogant, Black? I'm surprised your head can even pass through doorways, with that ego you're lugging around. You're the textbook definition of arrogant, so please. This is the pot calling the kettle black."

"So witty aren't you, Nott? You're just so smart they couldn't stand you in Slytherin and dumped you in Ravenclaw. I'm sure even your brother was glad to see you weren't in his house."

Marissa flinched at his words before drawing up to her full height, livid.

"Get out of my way." She hissed. He raised an eyebrow, surprised by her change in attitude but decided to obey, not knowing how to deal with this unknown version of his number one enemy. "Did I hit a nerve there, Nott?" He called after her, tone blithe and mocking.  
She didn't bother with a response, slamming her book bag down on her table and sitting down as well, barely concealing her rage, hand twitching to jinx him.

Luckily for Black's health, the professor chose that moment to enter, calling the class to attention and starting on a monologue with required complete attention. It allowed her to simmer down to an acceptable level, although his constant gruff murmurs kept her irritation spiking each time she heard them.

He was just detestable. Taking notes on the specifics of a charm they had started studying in a previous class, she allowed her mind to drift back to the encounter of last night.

Who was hidden under the disguise of a mutt Animagus. She tallied all the elements she knew in a neat list, trying to order her thoughts.

He had to be good at magic to succeed in such an attempt, specially without any authorization

He had friends that were probably also Animagi, since they were frolicking in the forest with him

He had book smarts too, since he knew about her form

He hadn't seemed all that arrogant either, so that excluded most Gryffindor as well

Well that didn't help at all. She couldn't think of any guy that fit such a description. He had to be a student though, otherwise he would have been outlawed from the grounds… A professor? Nah, he had said so himself, if she recalled correctly. Dammit. Now she was intrigued. She had considered not showing up at their little meeting tonight, but now that just wasn't possible. Her mind would never let her leave the sleeping dog lie, so to speak. The hilarious pun. Mentally rolling her eyes, she prepared herself for another sleepless night.

At least she'd get some entertainment out of this deal. It was better than nothing. Now she just couldn't wait.

x-x-x

In the back of the room, Sirius Black was much more pensive than usual (to the worry of his friends), pondering the mystery encounter of the night – or early morning.  
Ah, he just couldn't wait to learn more about that mystery girl of his. This was going to be fun.

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A/N: And WOAH. What is this?! An update?! On this story?! Yes, yes it is! This is what got me out of my little slump, so I decided to go ahead and post. I do hope you enjoy, and thank you for not giving up hope of seeing a new chapter!

Please do continue to review 3


	4. Chapter 4: Exploring a relationship

It was midnight again and Marissa had no idea what to do. She was at the designated meeting place, it was a few minutes till the time would be right and she was… hiding, perched up in a tree, tailed curled around the branch to keep her balance. Like a coward. Okay, she'd admit it, she was confused. But not scared. Never scared. Notts were never scared and that was a thing she liked to apply to herself.

The sound of paws hitting dirt distracted her from her dilemma as her appointment arrived, tongue lolling out as he panted, and stopped right under her. Oh. That was just too tempting. Grinning to herself, Marissa aimed and leapt down from the branch, landing neatly on his back. The dog yelped in an undistinguished manner, trying to shake her off until she abandoned and hopped down to the ground, settling calmly, as if nothing had happened at all. Fun and definitely worth it, especially when she saw the expression on his face.

"Hi." She quipped amiably, canines peeking out in a feline smile. He mock-snarled at her before flopping down on the ground with a faint 'oomph', tail batting from side to side in a metronome-like manner.

"Hi to you too," he grumbled in return, still vexed about the prank. Marissa lay down as well and tilted her head to the side.

"Are you in a bad mood now, doggy-boy?" she asked sweetly, in too good a mood to keep herself from becoming snarky.

He rolled his eyes in a distinctive human manner before deadpanning: "You jumped on my back."

Marissa flicked her ear in amusement. "Yes. I did. Should I revise my judgment about you not being stupid?"

The mutt barked a laugh before standing up again, towering over her. "No, you were right there, I'm definitely a genius. Now get up, we're not going to sit here all night like lazy bums. The grounds are ours!"

Not liking the height difference, Marissa stood up as well, reducing it by a few centimeters. He was still ridiculously tall though. But the dog did have a sense of adventure. That was a nice change from the boys her family had her meet in preparation for a marriage. They all had the same goals, the same plans and the same exact future to look forwards to. 'Oh yes, I aim to become a high ranking official in [insert an important corporation or government office here] and win about [insert amount of money here].' Dull didn't even start to describe them. Marissa couldn't stand them for an hour and yet she was expected to choose one to marry and support forever?

Shaking her head to distract herself from the less than joyous thoughts, she smirked at her new companion and nodded her head. "Sure, where to, oh Great Guide?" she questioned, curious to see what he could come up with.

He fell silent for a few seconds before bounding out of the forest and towards the castle. Marissa blinked a few seconds in shock, before yelping and taking off after him, not wanting to be left behind. "Hey wait up you great lug of a mutt! I don't have your paws!"

This caused him to skid to a halt and turn his head back towards her, a very doggy grin stretching his muzzle.

"I thought you were strong and all. Should I revise my judgment of you?"

Marissa simply laughed before trotting past him daintily.

"No, it simply means that gentlemen should adapt to the ladies' condition. Be a good boy, hm?"

He barked his laugh again and set off at a slower pace, showing he had actually listened. Marissa beamed interiorly at the fact that he had paid attention to what she said. It was a pleasant chance. She was so used to the Slytherin method, or the Ravenclaw rejection that she barely bothered to expect anything else these days. When people didn't know who she was, it certainly was better…

After a few minutes of silent padding, she spoke up again, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. Not knowing was never her style anyways.

"Where are we going?"

He didn't respond.

"Hey, doggy-boy, answer me! Where are you taking us?"

Still nothing. She growled in aggravation. This resembled her life at home way too much. Being ignored, not getting answers… She briefly closed her eyes, but failed to keep her cool.

"Mutt! Are you even listening?!"

Surprised at the anger in her tone, he stopped and turned back towards her. "Well sure, I mean, I can't exactly ignore you forever can I? It defeats the purpose of having company."

Marissa blinked, surprised. "Why aren't you answering then? It seemed a lot like ignoring to me." She retorted, trying to keep the venom from her tone. She didn't really feel like aggravating the only person she associated with at the moment.

"Because it's a surprise?" he answered, confused by her question. "It seemed sort of obvious at the time, but…"

"Oh." She mumbled, realizing her mistake. "Well let's hurry up then, I'm curious."

He chuckled roughly. "I had understood that much." Pausing for a second, he turned back towards her, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. She backed up, wary.

"How much do you trust me?" he asked, tone falsely light.

Marissa faltered before snorting. "Not at all?" she tried, eyes narrowing as she attempted to figure out what he was plotting.

"Good!" And then he swiped at her paws, causing her to fall over. She was still in shock when he slipped under her and hoisted her up onto his back. When she finally regained her voice – and muscles – she yelped and struggled, trying to get down in vain.

"What are you doing, you, you – Mutt! Hey!" This time he deliberately ignored her as he leapt into what she now recognized as the Quidditch stands, quickly climbing higher and higher, only letting her down once they reached the summit. She hissed at him, fur rising in hackles at the fright.

He only rumbled in laughter before nudged her side with his paw. "Look around, will you?"

Deciding to go along with the crazy dog's demand, she looked away from her paws, breath catching in her throat at the sight.

The whole castle was visible from here, bathed in silvery moonlight and the reflection from the lake, seeming almost unreal, out of a fairytale or a dream.

"It's… wow." She murmured, not finding words to describe her emotions. Mutt-boy sat down next to her, observing silently.  
"Yeah, isn't it?" he commented, voice almost solemn now. She agreed, nodding her head.

They sat in silence for quite some time, before deciding in tandem to go back to their rooms, eyelids drooping faintly with fatigue.

Underneath the open window, they stopped, and she smiled faintly at the dog. "No muddy paws this time?" she quipped, not wanting to be the one to offer up a next meeting.

"Maybe next time," he replied easily, causing her heart to soar – wait soar? Since when did she get so emotional? Marissa decided to ignore her weird feelings, blaming them on the hour of the night.

"No, not even next time," she retorted with a smirk. "Not tomorrow though, I think we both need _some_ sleep."

He nodded, they fixed a da—appointment for the day after and both went their separate ways, hearts surprisingly light.

It had been as good as they had both hoped.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or names in this story, except for Marissa Nott.

AN: The amount of feedback I've been getting for this story is just breath-taking, especially for only the three little chapters I've posted. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Please continue to review! It's always extremely appreciated and can only help me make the story better for you ;)


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